Sunday 3-30-25 Bye to Robbers Cave & Hi to CIty of Okmulgee

 

Whispering Pines Campground

 

We had five marvelous days at Robbers Cave State Park now it was time to move on. Our next destination was 100 miles away. It had rained earlier in the morning and it was misting a bit so we took our time getting ready to leave.

The front came in last night so the morning temperature was cooler than it has been. It was 44 degrees. It was windy and overcast all morning. About mid-afternoon the wind died down and the sun tried to come through the clouds. It got up to 57 degrees in Okmulgee, OK.

We were on the road by 9:00 am. Larry drove two lane highways most of the drive. We drove through a few small towns. The traffic was lite. We saw a lot of cattle and ranches. It was a nice drive. We stopped 30 miles from Okmulgee to stretch our legs and go to the bathroom. 

We arrived at the City of Okmulgee Park around 11:30. We stopped at the host (Terry) site to check in. We didn't have a reservation so he told us to find a site. A little later he would come around and collect the camping fee, $20 because were seniors otherwise it was $22. He said they take checks or cash. We paid in cash.

This park use to be a state park but now it's run by the City of Okmulgee. Dripping Springs Park is adjacent to this park. Both parks have a lake (Lake Okmulgee and Dripping Springs Lake). Okmulgee Park is open year-round for recreation such as fishing, hiking and camping. The facilities of Okmulgee and Dripping Springs were constructed by the Works Process Administrations (WPA) and Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) during the Great Depression. They replaced the dam on Okmulgee Lake and built a spillway and other structures in the parks. They are still being used today. They both were Oklahoma State Parks until 1963 when the parks were transferred to the City of Okmulgee.

Okmulgee Park is a beautiful park with a 668 acre lake. It has a lot of trees on each site. The sites have a barbecue grill, fire pit grill, picnic table and hooks to hold your garbage bags. The bathrooms are old and need maintenance but they are heated, have running water and showers. The newer bathrooms have the showers separate and cost $1.00 for 8 minutes. The showers are free in the old bathrooms. They have a small beach. There are a couple of CCC pavilions available to lease for special events.

We had no problem finding a site. The site was level enough we didn't have to get the blocks out. Once we were in the site Larry plugged us in to the power. 

 

Welcome to Okmulgee Park (host site)

Camping at Okmulgee Park

When the wind went down and the sun came out I walked around for a half hour and took pictures. While walking around I saw a couple of fishing boats on the lake. I said hi to a gentleman who had been fishing on the banks. He didn't catch anything but had fun. I also talked to the host. There was a group of locals using one of the pavilions. They were playing at the playground. It's always nice to see the locals using the local parks. Terry is very nice and friendly.After dinner Larry walked around with me for a half hour. After he went inside I walked another hour.

 

 

 CCC Pavilion

 

 

 Lake Okmulgee

 

 

Playground

 

By the end of the day I had done 18,000 steps, which put me in 5th place in my group.

When I wasn't walking I played games. I did the Daily Challenges of Solitaire and Mahjong. The event was Event: Two Game Tango Mini of 10 games (5 Free Cell and 5 Pyramid). It took me 49 minutes and 52 seconds to complete, which put me in 20th place in my group. Then I moved onto playing Angry Birds.

Larry finished his book. I read some more of Guncle. It is a very funny book.              

Saturday 3-29-25 Ice Cream, Hiking, Camping & More

 

Hiking with friends

 

We had a great day. The day started out overcast and very humid. By the afternoon the clouds went away and the sun was shining bright. The low was 60 degrees and the high was 73 degrees.

I crawled out of bed around 7:00 and got dressed. Then I made blueberry pancakes for breakfast. I used the Great Value Complete Mix, you just have to add water. That way I don't have to worry about buying eggs and milk. It's not often I make blueberry pancakes because it's not always available. 

After breakfast we got ready to go on a hike. The trailhead wasn't too far away, it was located at the entrance of our loop. We started the hike on Coon Creek Trail until it Yd off (1 mile). Then we got on horse trail #5 (Bulldozer). The trail weaved through the trees and wasn't marked really well. We followed the Outlaw 100 signs on the trees and the yellow circle markers. We crossed through a creek a few times, no water so didn't have to worry about getting wet. We had hiked 2.5 miles and Larry looked at his GPS to see where we were. We had hiked part of this trail in 2022 and Larry thought we were close where it would intersect another trail and head back. We rested and then continued on to where horse trail #4 and #5 intersected. Then we got on #4 and headed back to Coon Creek trail. Once on Coon Creek trail we were about a mile from the campground. We saw just one other couple on Coon Creek trail. They told us there was a huge black snake on the trail but we didn't see it. By the end of the hike we had hiked 5.33 miles for three hours. The trail didn't have a lot of elevation but it was challenging because of all the rocks. At places the rocks were covered with leaves and you couldn't see them. We had a great hike.

 

Hiking through the trees

The sign for the trail (bulldozer)

 

We spent the rest of the day relaxing. Larry did research on where to go next. He has no problem finding campgrounds but most of them don't have hiking trails. We love to hike. We prefer to hike from the campground but if the trailhead is close by we will hike to the trailhead. Once in awhile we'll ride the motorcycle to get to a trailhead.

I played my Daily Challenges of Solitaire and Mahjong. The event was Event: Tri Peaks Mini of 5 games. It took me 14 minutes and 45 seconds, which put me in 40th place in my group of 50. Not too good today!!!!. Then I played Angry Birds.

 

Angry Birds Characters

 

While we were relaxing Larry heard music. He said it sounded like an ice cream truck. When it got closer he was right. A lady was driving around the park selling ice cream. When she got back to where we were I was waiting for her. I bought a couple of ice creams (a Blue Bunny Big Dipper and a Big Humor Giant King Cone). Together they cost $9.00, a little pricey but it was the novelty of the experience. It's not too often you see an ice cream truck. We were surprised that Good Humor is still in business.

 

Thurman Ray Ice Cream

 

Walking back to the Minnie

 

Enjoying my Blue Bunny Big Dipper

 

In the evening I walked around about 30 minutes to get my steps. I ended up doing 18,000 steps, which put me in 7th place in my group. Larry and I started new books.

 

Friday 3-28-25 Rainy Morning & Overcast Day

 

Having fun in the rain

 

We didn't do much today. We woke up to a rainy morning. The rain came in about 8:00 and was gone by noon. It was steady and at times heavy. We didn't go for a hike instead we hung around the Minnie.

 

Just hanging out in the Minnie

 

Larry read a book. I finished reading Mary Jane by Jessica Anya Blau. It was a very good book. When I finished Mary Jane I asked Larry to choose another one. He was more than happy to do so. He picked The Guncle by Steven Rowley. It about a gay uncle. He said it was a good book. I'll start it tomorrow.

 

Enjoying a good book

 

I spent most of the day playing games. I did the Daily Challenges of Solitaire and Mahjong. The event was Event: Two Game Tango Mini of 6 games (3 Spider and 3 Free Cell). It took me 15 minutes and 52 seconds, which put me in 23rd place in my group. Then I played Angry Birds.

In the evening I walked around the campground for an hour. I walked around the cabin area three times. Then I came and got Larry to walk with me for 20 minutes. When we got back to the Minnie I finished doing my steps in place. I ended up doing 18,000 steps, which put me in 4th place in my group.

Tomorrow the rain is suppose to be gone so we'll probably go hiking.  

Thursday 3-27-25 Motorcycle Ride, Hiking Robbers Cave and Rough Canyon

Sasquatch welcomes you to Robbers Cave State Park

 

We had another awesome day at Robbers Cave State Park. 

We started the day out by having oatmeal for breakfast. Then we went on a hike. 

In 2022 when we were here we hiked the park road to Robbers Cave trail, which was 3.5 miles one way but today we took the motorcycle. Larry let it warm up because it's cold-blooded. Once it was warm I got on and off we went. 

It was a little after 8:00 when we got to Robbers Cave. We were the only ones there, the gate had just opened at 8:00. We went to the map to see, where to start the hike. Since we had been here before Larry knew where to start, the hike to Robbers Cave trail was .75 mile with orange markings, however it wasn't well marked. The trail was very challenging and weaved around the mountain. We had to climb over rocks, in between boulders and up a mountain. In place the sandstone had worn smooth and was slick. When we were going to the entrance of the cave Larry helped me climb up on the sandstone. He told me it was slick and to be careful. He held out his pole so I could  climb up I slipped and slid down the rock, not too far. I tried it again and was successful. I didn't go in the cave because I was afraid I couldn't climb back up the rocks, Larry went in. I could see it where I was standing. The cave was called Robbers Cave because rumor had it, that Belle Star and Jesse James had hid out in this cave. Belle Starr did live 20 miles from here. There was a sign, that explained the cave. 

 

Larry in Robbers Cave

 

 

 

Robbers Cave trail over the boulders

 

 

After exploring the cave we hiked to Rough Canyon Trail (light blue markers). We didn't hike this trail back in 2022 so it was exciting to hike a new trail. In order to get to it we climbed up the mountain side following the blue/orange markers of the multi-use trail. It was steep and had rocks and tree roots. At places the rocks were loose. Once it flattened out the trail weaved through the forest. We walked part of a pipeline maintenance road. We were glad we had the GPS for the trail on Larry's phone because we got off the trail a couple of times. We hiked by a small mountain lake and saw a couple of Canadian geese on the dam. One of them was talking to us and really didn't want us at their lake. When we got near them them walked into the lake and swam away. We were almost finished with the hike when we met a couple about our age with a friendly dog. I petted him and said our hellos. Then we finished the hike. By the time we got back to the parking lot we had hike 3.75 miles for three hours. We were hot and tried. We rested for a little while. There was another motorcycle in the parking lot and few other vehicles. After resting we got on the bike to go back to the campground.  

 

Trail going through the trees

 

Canadian geese on the dam

Once we were back at our site we spent the rest of the day relaxing. 

Larry sat outside in his chair reading a book. I played my games. I did the Daily Challenges of Solitaire and Mahjong. The event was Event: Pyramid Adventure of 20 games. It took me 1 hour, 31 minutes and 13 seconds to complete, which put me in 10th place in my group. Then I played Angry Birds and Angry Birds and Friends.

At 3:00 I decided to walk around the campground for an hour to get my steps. By the end of the day I had 19,000 steps, which put me in 3rd place in my group. After my walk I went over and took a shower. Larry had taken one earlier and told me which one was the best to use. The showers were old and not well maintained. The water pressure was low but it got very hot. But we were glad we had a shower to use.

For dinner we had Grilled Hawaiian Style Chicken from Aldi. I cooked it in the microwave. After dinner I went for a short walk to take a couple of pictures. One was Sasquatch, who was right at the entrance of the campground. The other one was a bobcat, that was for the Bobcat Crossing Campground.

 

Bobcat 

 I continued reading the book I started yesterday. 

 

Relaxing with a book
 

    

Wednesday 3-26-25 Hiking, Camping & Relaxing

 

Robbers Cave Office and Lodge

 

Another gorgeous day in Oklahoma at Robbers Cave State Park. 

In 2022 when we were here the morning temperature was in the low 30s and the highs were in the 60s. This morning the low was 60 degrees. What weird weather we're having!!! 

I crawled out of bed at 7:15 and had oatmeal for breakfast. When we finished breakfast we got ready to go on a hike.It's always nice to be someplace where you know where things are. The trailhead was right at the entrance of Whispering Pines loop. We started our hike on Coon Creek Trail Loop, which was two miles. The trail had rocks and roots on the trail and the terrain was easy. The trail looped through the trees. We got to where the trail Y'd, at this point you can decide to go back to the campground or hike to the lodge. We had already hiked two miles and we felt good so we decided hike to the lodge. 

The lodge isn't that big but it is very nice. The entrance was very nice and had some double doors. They had three young ladies working the front desk and there was no one there. We said our hellos and went to the back patio. The back patio was gorgeous with three giant Chandeliers. They had an old fireplace that was built by the CCC, it had been located in one of the residence's cabin. Most of Robbers Cave Park was built by the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC), Company 1825. From 1933 to 1941 the 1825 Company mainly World War I veterans worked on the park. Below is a sign on all they did. 

We sat on a metal bench and rested for a little while. Then we walked over to Belle Starr Loop Trail, which is a two mile loop. The signage for this trail were white. This trail was more challenging, we hiked down the mountainside through boulders and back up the mountainside. We had to climb over boulders to get to the bottom. Once at the bottom the trail flattened and continued through the trees. We hiked to Coon Creek Lake, where we took the trail along the bank for about .25 miles. This part of the trail was in the open on a road, where vehicles were allowed on. At the end of the lake the trail went behind a gate and up a hill back into the trees. As we hiked this trail we saw an old water pump house, one of the 24 check dams the CCC built for flood control, there were a couple of ducks swimming in the lake. Once we got back to the mountainside we had to climb back up through the boulders. The last section Larry held out his pole so I could climb over the rocks. This helped a lot. Once on top of the mountain it was easy to get back to the campground, we were back on Coon Creek Trail. This section is shared by both trail Coon Creek and Belle Starr. By the time we finished our hike we had hiked 4.25 miles. We had a super first hike.

 

 

In front of the boulders we climbed down from the lodge

 

The trailhead sign for Belle Starr Trail at the lodge

 

Patio of the lodge

 

Sign about the CCC

 

Hiking trail going through the trees

 

Coon Creek Ridge Trail sign

 

When we got back to the Minnie we relaxed a little bit. Then I made sandwiches for lunch, it was too warm for soup.

We spent the rest of the day relaxing. Larry read and I did played games. Larry has already finished reading three books and now working on his fourth.

 

Relaxing with a book

 

I played the Daily Challenges of Solitaire and Mahjong. The event was Event: Easy Street Mini of 15 games. It took me 36 minutes and 50 seconds, which put me in 27th place in my group. Then I played Angry Birds.

After dinner I walked around for about an hour to finish my steps. I ended up doing 18,500 steps, which put me in 4th place in my group. 

After cooling off I started a book called Mary Jane by Jessica Anya Blau. It's about a fourteen year old girl who becomes a nanny to a five year old girl for the summer. She was raised in a very conservative home but the home she nanny's for is anything but conservative. So far it's a funny book and you can picture the shock of the girl in certain situations. 

                

Tuesday 3-25-25 New State, Choctaw Resort & Casino and Robbers Cave Park

 

Welcome to Oklahoma

 

We had two wonderful days at Loyd Park now it was time to move on. Larry woke up at his normal time of 6:00 and I crawled out of bed at 7:30. I made oatmeal for breakfast. Then we got ready to go. We put things down and secured. Larry unplugged us from the power. I made sure all the cabinet doors were closed. We were on the road again at 8:00.

 

On the way out we stopped by the dumpster to get rid of our trash. Our next destination is 250 miles from Loyd Park. But on the way we made a stop outside of Durant, OK at the Choctaw Resort & Casino. 

 

Larry drove a divided highway 360 from Grand Prairie to I20. He drove I20 until we got to President George Bush Turnpike. At places the highway was very rough. we drove on the turnpike for 30 miles through the Dallas area and cost $10 for the toll. We have a toll tag so it's automatic paid. It took us about an hour to get through. The traffic was bad with a couple of delays but we didn't stop completely. One was a stalled vehicle and the other one was an accident. Also it was rush hour.   

We arrived Choctaw Resort & Casino at 11:00. Larry parked in the parking lot. Then I made a salad for lunch. After lunch I went over to the casino and gambled for two and a half hour. I lost $20 but had a lot of fun. There was a non-smoking casino but you had to walked through the smoking casino to get there. We had been here a long time ago. It's a very nice casino. 

 

 

Choctaw Resort & Casino

 

 

 

 

Chahta Tvshkahomma

 

 

 

Explains the statue

 

While I gambled Larry read. A security guard came by and told him he couldn't park there overnight. Larry told him that his wife was giving the casino some money. We were going to leave afterwards. We knew we couldn't stay in the parking lot overnight, they have their own RV park that we planned to stay in but rain is forecasted in morning. Larry didn't want to hang around and wait for the rain to go and the roads to clear up. The security guard told Larry he could stay there but the next time he should park across the street at the event center The security guard was very nice.   

When I returned to the Minnie we put things away and went to our final destination, which was Robbers Cave State Park. Robbers Cave State Park was about 120 miles from the casino. The road we drove was a curvy narrow two lane county road. We saw a lot of cattle. Things were starting to bloom. Larry was glad when we finally got to Robbers Cave. 

We're planning to stay for five days in Whispering Pines Campground. We're in the same campground as we were in back in March of 2022. After setting up the Minnie for our stay. I made dinner, which was leftover chicken breast.

After dinner I walked around the campground to the upper loop (Old Circle), the lodge, playground and cabins. Last time we visited they were remodeling the lodge. Today it is finished and looks very nice. I walked for about an hour. When I got back to the Minnie I finished my steps, which was 18,000 steps, which put me 6th place in my group.

 

Dogwoods in bloom

 

 Entrance to the lodge

 

Robbers Cave Lodge

 

One of the cabins

We were surprised there were quite a few campers. There were some kids. The kids entertained us by running around the loop and trying to fly a kite and they rode their bikes. It was very nice to see.

I did my Daily Challenges of Solitaire and Mahjong. The event was Event: The Hard Road of 16 games. It took me 1 hour, 48 minutes and 36 seconds, which put me in 16th place in my group. Then I played Angry Birds. 

We had a super day.

 

 

Monday 3-24-25 Camping, Bishop Cidercade & More

Bishop Cidercade in Arlington Texas

We had an awesome day. The weather was beautiful with a lot of sun and wind. We woke up to 50 degrees and it got up to 79 degrees. 

We started the day out by going to Bishop Cidercade. It is located in Arlington Texas close to the Texas Ranger Stadium and the AT&T Stadium (Dallas Cowboys). It's about 15 miles from Loyd Park. It's open 7 days a week 10:00 am to 12:00 am. It is family friendly all day but at 9:00 pm to closing it is only open to 18+. We were here during our fall trip and had a super time so we wanted to revisit it. They have 300 retro and modern arcade games including fighting games, 30 pinball games, rhythm games, skeeball, racing games, pool tables, shuffleboard courts, basket ball throw and more. They have a beer bar with 54 tabs with beer and hard cider made by them. They now have a restaurant. We were there for over three hours playing pinball, a few arcade games (bust a move where you bust the designated color of balls on the screen), Jungle King (swing from one vine to another one), Sonic the Hedgehog (collect as many rings as possible), World Class Bowling Arcade and a couple we have at home but haven't played in for ever (Mappy and Popeye). We played all the pinball games except one that was broken. We ate lunch at the restaurant. We had the Baconbuster (two all-beef mashed patties topped with cheddar cheese and loaded with bacon strips and a salty bacon jam of their own) and was served with a hugh order of waffle and curly fries. The service was great and the burger was tasty, we couldn't finish the fries because there was too many but good. The cost to play was $12 all day pass plus tax. We were surprised that there were a lot of kids there considering Spring Break has ended.

 

Attack From Mars (we have)

 

Ghost Busters (don't have)

 

Black Knight (don't have)

 

Larry playing Jaws (don't have)

 

Shrek (we have)

 

Venom (don't have)

 

Jungle King (don't have)

 

Mappy (we have)

 

Sonic (don't have)

 

Playing Sonic with my virtual pinball tee shirt on

 

Video bowling

 

Shooting hoops (my score on the right)

 

It was fun watching the kids play games and they were supervised by their mothers. We watched a group of kids playing a game together, they chose how many people are playing and the game they wanted to play. You can either play as a team or compete against each other. When you play as a team the computer tells you what color square to get on to get credit. The kids would run all over the area to get to a square with that color. When you compete with each other you choose what color you want to be. Then the computer will put the different colors all over the area you have to get as many as you can in a certain amount of time. The person with the highest amount of squares is the winner.  

We were back at Loyd Park by 2:00. We spent the rest of the day relaxing. Larry read a book and started another one. 

 

Relaxing with a book

I played my games. I did the Daily Challenges of Solitaire and Mahjong. The event was Event: Two Game Tango Mini of 10 games (5 Free Cell and 5 Tri Peaks). It took me 1 hour, 39 minutes and 33 seconds, which put me in 13th place in my group. I played Angry Birds.

After dinner I walked around the campground ( our loop and two others) for an hour. I walked to the park store, beach area, picnic area and group area, which was about an hour. By the end of the day I had done 18,000 steps, which put me in 4th place in my group.